Car-axle box.



N0. 69l,l75. Patented lan. l4, I902.

J. L. PETITHUMME.

GAB AXLE BOX. (App) a nfiidmm so 1898) (No Model.)

w m w 1 UNITED States Ararat FF IClE CAR-AXLE BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,175, dated January 14, 1902 Application filed June 30, 1898. serial No. 684,854. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. PETITHOMME, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Axle Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists of improvements relating to what is now known as the Petithomme system of ear-axle boxes,and has particular relation to a novel lid for such boxes.

The invention has for its primary object the provision of a construction of lid which is as eflieient as any other heretofore made by me and possesses the additional advantage of being capable of opening wider than such other lids already in the art.

Improved details in the construction and arrangement of the several parts will be apparent from the detailed description hereinafter when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and the appended claims.

In the said drawings a preferable embodiment of the invention is delineated for the purpose of illustration, and when referring to the same like reference characters will designate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion.

of the box with the improved lid in position thereon. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the lid in open position. Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, A designates an axle-box, which, generally speaking, may be of any ordinaryor preferred type.

B is the end of the axle, on which the box A is mounted, and B and B are the bearing and key between the same, the latter being shown in Fig. 2.

The -box-lid A as stated, is constructed with a view to affording a very large opening in order to give easy access to the interior of the box when inserting lubricant or lubricantholding devices and when cleaning or repairing the same. To this end I have made the hinge and spring connections of the box-lid in my present improvements as free as possible, so that the lid can be thrown wide open as far up as is indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings and still farther up and back, if necessary. The body of the lid is flat and made in such a way that it will cover the entire front opening of the box and be seated squarely over it, as shown. Under the lid is placed a packing A similar to that described in my Patent No. 573,417, of December 15, 1896. The lid is attached or hinged to the box by a bolt N, that is passed through two lugs A A formed at the upper corners of the lid itself,

and through similar lugs A A formed'on' said box at the upper edge of the front opening thereof. The bolt N is shown in detail in Fig. 5 and, like the hinge-bolt referred to in my patent above mentioned, has a central quadrangular portion on which is slipped a holder P for a spring Q, said holder having a central quadrangular hole P to match. As represented in Fig. 2, the spring Q is a flat spring and extends lengthwise across the middle of the lid, bearing on the outer surface thereof, though it is covered byan openended sheath A It is loosely set in its holder that is to say, detachably secured thereto by its upper en d,which is bent at Q to catch on an under lip P of said holder. A stop A, formed at the lower edge of the lid and affording a bearing for the lower end of the spring, prevents the latter from coming off after it is set in place. The holder P, as will be seen, bears upon theupper bent end of the spring Q and also on the outer surface of it through a projection P passed under the upper side of the sheath A An opening or cavity P of suitable shape, is left between said projection and the lip P to allow the spring to be attached and detached readily. At its lower end the spring is bent under, as at Q Fig. 6, and is thus raised and kept in full contact with the projection P The lid is closed and opened with a lever made .of a fiat springy bar and used in connection with the hingebolt N and the springQ thereto attached, the angular portion of said bolt causing said spring through its holder to work the lid either way. This lever is passed through a suit-able slot made in one end of the hingebolt at the right-hand side of the box and has its upper end B bent to keep it from dropping out when the lid is closed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4; but the said lever is otherwise free to slide through the slot of the bolt, so that when .the lid is opened it can be used to keep the same open by sliding it down through the slot and bringing it to bear against one of the side ribs A of the box, as illustrated in Fig. 3. When the lid is closed, the lever B is pulled a little to one side and placed behind a stop A provided on the right-hand side of the box. This operates to keep the hinge-bolt in a fixed position and cause the spring thereto connected to exerta constant pressure on thelid. The box is thus tightly closed. The outer end of the stop A is inclined rearwardly, and ,the lever B is therefore correspondingly twisted at R to enable it to slide back of said stop easily. Another stop A is also provided on the box to prevent the lever from being pushed too far back when it is pressed either to place it behind the stop A or to disengage it therefrom. At its'lower end the lever B is curved, as at B4, to afford a convenient bearing for the hand in manipulating it.

While in the above disclosureone embodiment only of the invention has been described and illustrated, it is to be understood that many changes in the construction and operation of the several parts can be made without in the least departing from the spirit of the invention.

I-Iavingthus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination-with an axle-box, of a lid hinged thereto, a spring acting on the lid to move the same in one direction, anda separate-piece holder for the spring to which the spring is attached.

2. The combination with a car-axle box, of a lid, a hinge-bolt passing through lugs on the box and the lid, a detachable holder on said bolt, a spring detachably connected with said holder and bearing on thelid, and means for controlling the rotation of the hinge-bolt, substantially as described.

3. A car-axle box having alid covering its front opening, a hinge-bolt made partly angular and passing through lugs on the boxlid, a loose springextending lengthwise across the lids outer surface, asheath for the spring, a holder engaging with the angular portion of the bolt and detachably engaging the spring at its upper end, said holder extending into the sheath, and means for controlling the rotation of the hinge-bolt, substantially asdescribed.

4. A car-axle box having a hinged lid, a springbearing on the lid, and a detachable holder on the hinge-bolt for the spring, substantially as described.

Signed by me at San Francisco, California, this 20th day of May, 1898 JOSEPH L. PETITHOMME.

Witnesses:

A. H. STE. MARIE, HENRY P. TRIooU. 

